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Canada’s wheelchair rugby team to play for Paralympics bronze

On the track, Canadian wheelchair racer Michelle Stilwell won the 100 metres for her second gold medal of the Rio Paralympics, the sixth of her career.

Canada's Trevor Hirschfield, left, takes on an American opponent during wheelchair rugby play at the Paralympics in Rio on Saturday. The Canadians lost and will now play for bronze (Bruna Prado / GETTY IMAGES)

By Lori EwingThe Canadian Press

Sat., Sept. 17, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO—Canada’s wheelchair rugby team had its heart set on gold after a silver-medal performance four years ago in London.

Instead, the Canadians will play for bronze at the Rio Paralympics after a 60-55 loss to their arch-rival Americans.

“It stings,” said co-captain Trevor Hirschfield.

“The last four years you’re building forward towards Rio in hopes of securing that gold medal, and now that that’s not a possibility, it hurts a bit, but tournament’s not over. The sting will come after the tournament’s over.”

Canada’s rivalry with the Americans was chronicled in the Oscar-nominated documentary “Murderball,” and little has changed.

Canada edged the Americans to win gold at last summer’s Pan Am Games in Toronto, and on Saturday, the teams matched each other virtually point for point before the U.S. broke open a six-point lead late in the game; Canada couldn’t recover.

“We always have great games with them, it’s a huge rivalry,” said Miranda Biletski, a tear rolling down one cheek. “We knocked them out in 2014 worlds and (2012) Paralympics, so I’m sure they had this marked on the calendars and they were hungry. They didn’t want a three-peat of us knocking them out in the semis.”

Biletski, from Regina, is the lone female on Canada’s team, but said “the guys are great, I inherited 11 brothers, we’re a giant family and I love them to death.”

On the track, Canadian wheelchair racer Michelle Stilwell won the 100 metres for her second gold medal of the Rio Paralympics, the sixth of her career.

The 42-year-old athlete and politician from Parksville, B.C., won the 400 metres earlier in the Games.

Stilwell led from the gun Saturday to cross in 19.42 seconds. Kerry Morgan of the U.S. was second in 19.96, while Belgium’s Marieke Vervoort won bronze in 2012.

Stilwell also won gold as part of Canada’s wheelchair basketball team at the 2000 Games.

She’s is also a Member of the Legislative Assembly in B.C., and is the B.C. Minister of Social Development

Canada’s sailing squad captured a pair of medals at Guanabara Bay.

Married couple Jackie Gay and John McRoberts of Victoria won silver in the SKUD class, while the Sonar team of Paul Tingley of Halifax, Logan Campbell of Saskatoon, and Scott Lutes of Moncton, N.B., won bronze.

CYCLING TRAGEDY: An Iranian cyclist died after crashing in a road race at the Paralympics on Saturday.

He was identified as Bahman Golbarnezhad, 48, the International Paralympics Committee said.

It said he received emergency treatment on the course and was transported to a Rio hospital, where officials said he died.

“This is truly heart-breaking news, and the thoughts and condolences of the whole Paralympic Movement are with Bahman’s family, friends, and teammates, as well as the whole of the National Paralympic Committee of Iran,” IPC president Philip Craven said in a statement.

The IPC said Golbarnezhad crashed on a mountainous stretch of the road cycling course. The IPC said he suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital.

The cause of the crash was not clear, and officials said it was being investigated.

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